Excellent high quality enthusiasts site about modern fantasy writing. Includes many reviews and a podcast.

25 - 27 AUGUST 2013: Bialik College, in collaboration with the Harvard School of Education, is delighted to invite you to the 4th Cultures of Thinking Conference. The conference theme is: Telling Our Stories of Learning: Who are our students becoming as thinkers and learners as a result of their time with us? * How we can leverage the cultural forces that exist in our classrooms to constantly create an ever more powerful culture of thinking? * What are we doing as educators to provide rich opportunities for our students to develop as thinkers? * Who are our students becoming as a result of their time spent in this thoughtful learning environment? * Who are we, the teachers, becoming as a result of our time spent in this culture? How has it changed our role as teachers? * How can a culture of thinking be created, nurtured and retained across our classrooms, schools, and nation? The conference will commence with breakfast and a plenary session on the morning of Sunday 25 August. It will continue until Monday afternoon with plenary sessions with the Harvard educators each day and concurrent presentations and workshops with practising educators throughout the conference. Registration includes all plenary and concurrent sessions, breakfast Sunday morning, lunch and refreshment breaks on Sunday and Monday and a social function on Sunday evening. All sessions of the conference will be held at: Bialik College, 429 Auburn Road, East Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Some tips from Anita Heiss on Aboriginal resources for Aus Curriculum.

50 favourite novelists with a bit of a blurb on each. Many children's & young adult writers included.

Podcast interview with author & cognitive psychologist: Dan Willingham's new book was written primarily for those who are concerned about the best way to educate children. But it is also filled with fascinating theories (for separating the fluff from the good stuff ) that you just might be able to use in everyday life.

Reading and stories can be an escape from real life, a window into another world -- but have you ever considered how new fictional experiences might change your perspective on real, everyday life? From Pride and Prejudice to Harry Potter, learn how popular fiction can spark public dialogue and shape culture.

Finally! The secret ingredient to writing a good book has been revealed. Plot Lines, the infographic from Delayed Gratification, the slow journalism magazine, shows the dominant themes in last year's books nominated for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.  An interactive, zooming viewer available on the original landing page.

Google presents here a series of six classes, each delivered via your choice of video, text document or slides. Use all three to really get the message. It is well structured with optional activities after each lesson, and mid-course and end of course tests.